Lead: On May 23, 2026, the Pyramids of Giza hosted a crossover heavyweight headliner as Oleksandr Usyk defended his WBC heavyweight title against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven in Cairo. The card’s preliminaries began at 11:00 a.m. ET on Uncrowned, with the DAZN pay-per-view main card scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. ET and ring walks expected around 6:00 p.m. ET. This event paired Usyk’s verified boxing record and unified-title status against Verhoeven’s storied kickboxing résumé and limited pro boxing experience. This story collects live, round-by-round updates, results from the main card and prelims, and context for what the matchup means for heavyweight boxing.
Key Takeaways
- Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) entered the Pyramids of Giza card as WBC, WBA and IBF unified heavyweight titlist; the WBA and IBF belts were not at stake because Rico Verhoeven was unranked by those bodies.
- Rico Verhoeven (professional boxing 1-0, 1 KO; kickboxing 66-10) made his second recorded professional boxing appearance after retiring from kickboxing in June 2026 following a long GLORY run.
- Main card broadcast: DAZN pay-per-view began at 2:00 p.m. ET with ring walks expected near 6:00 p.m. ET; prelims streamed on Uncrowned beginning 11:00 a.m. ET.
- Main-card results reported during live coverage included: Hamzah Sheeraz defeated Alem Begic (2nd-round KO) to take the WBO super middleweight title; Jack Catterall beat Shakhram Giyasov by unanimous decision (118-109, 119-108, 116-111); Frank Sanchez stopped Richard Torrez Jr. (2nd-round KO).
- Additional title action: Mizuki Hiruta retained/claimed the WBO super flyweight title via unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 98-92); Benjamin Mendes Tani scored a 4th-round TKO at light heavyweight on the main card.
- Prelim highlights included second-round KO wins for Basem Mamdouh and first-round KO for Sultan Almohammed, with several local and regional fighters filling the undercard.
- Weigh-ins were held May 22, 2026, at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo (photo coverage credited to Mark Robinson/Getty Images).
Background
Oleksandr Usyk rose through cruiserweight to become an undisputed champion before moving to heavyweight and collecting multiple belts; by May 2026 he sat among boxing’s highest-rated pound-for-pound fighters. His most recent high-profile victory before this event was a fifth-round knockout of then-WBO champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in July 2025, a stoppage that reinforced his status at heavyweight.
Rico Verhoeven built a decades-long legacy in GLORY kickboxing, compiling a record that included a run of 13 consecutive title defenses and making him one of the most accomplished heavyweight kickboxers in modern history. After a brief professional boxing outing in 2014 (a second-round KO of Janos Finfera) and retirement from kickboxing in June 2026, Verhoeven accepted a crossover boxing challenge against Usyk, creating a high-profile, headline-grabbing matchup.
The bout in Cairo carried unusual administrative details: although Usyk held multiple sanctioning-body belts, not all were on the line because Verhoeven was not ranked by some organizations. The event was sold to international audiences as a DAZN pay-per-view and streamed regionally on Uncrowned, emblematic of boxing’s growing reliance on streaming platforms for marquee crossover shows.
Main Event
The site for the headline bout — the Pyramids of Giza — underscored the promotional scale and spectacle sought by organizers. Usyk and Verhoeven completed official weigh-ins on May 22 at the Grand Egyptian Museum, and both fighters progressed through media obligations and final preparations in Cairo before the May 23 card.
Usyk entered as the favored and more experienced boxer, carrying a 24-0 record with 15 knockouts and a resume of victories across two weight classes. Promoters emphasized Usyk’s championship pedigree and technical boxing proficiency as the central narrative heading into the matchup.
Verhoeven’s transition to professional boxing competition for only a second time made this a classic cross-discipline test: the Dutchman’s proven power and fight IQ in kickboxing were factors promoters believed could make the contest competitive, but his limited professional boxing record (1-0) and lack of ranking among major boxing bodies framed him as an unconventional challenger.
DAZN scheduled the card to concentrate global attention in the evening hours ET, and the live play-by-play coverage provided round-by-round notes, fighter positioning, and stoppage reports for the undercard and main card bouts. Several supporting title fights on the card compounded the event’s competitive significance beyond the headline.
Analysis & Implications
A victory for Usyk would have reinforced his claim as the division’s leading technical boxer and kept the WBC strap in his possession while leaving potential matchups with other top heavyweights intact. Retaining the WBC belt in a high-profile crossover against a popular kickboxing figure also serves promotional and commercial aims, expanding Usyk’s global visibility beyond traditional boxing audiences.
If Verhoeven had managed an upset, the result would be among the most consequential cross-discipline upsets in modern combat-sports history, immediately raising questions about the sanctioning bodies’ ranking policies and the criteria for allowing unranked challengers to contest major titles. Promoters and sanctioning organizations would likely come under scrutiny about how belts are defended in crossover fights.
The card’s stacked undercard — including title changes at super middleweight and decisive stoppages at heavyweight — suggested promoters prioritized competitive, career-advancing matchups rather than a single-showcase bout. For DAZN and regional broadcasters, the event serves as a test case for how crossover fights drive pay-per-view buys and international streaming subscriptions, with implications for future scheduling and fighter matchmaking.
Finally, the event highlights the regulatory and sports-governance tensions when a champion holds multiple belts but faces an opponent outside standard ranking lists. Expect debates among sanctioning bodies, promoters and athletic commissions about eligibility, purse splits and the sporting legitimacy of belts in crossover contexts.
Comparison & Data
| Bout | Result | Method | Round / Scores |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Alem Begic | Sheeraz def. Begic | KO | 2nd round |
| Jack Catterall vs. Shakhram Giyasov | Catterall def. Giyasov | Unanimous decision | 118-109, 119-108, 116-111 |
| Frank Sanchez vs. Richard Torrez Jr | Sanchez def. Torrez Jr | KO | 2nd round |
| Mizuki Hiruta vs. Mai Soliman | Hiruta def. Soliman | Unanimous decision | 99-91, 98-92, 98-92 |
| Benjamin Mendes Tani vs. Daniel Lapin | Tani def. Lapin | TKO | 4th round |
The table above summarizes the published main-card outcomes and official scorecards where provided. The undercard featured several early-round knockouts and regional contenders; these results reinforce that the event supplied both title drama and decisive finishes, boosting its standing as a major international boxing show.
Reactions & Quotes
“Follow all of the action with Uncrowned’s live results and play-by-play of the main card below.”
Uncrowned (live coverage)
“Main card starts at 2 p.m. ET on DAZN pay‑per‑view, with main event ring walks expected around 6 p.m. ET.”
DAZN (broadcaster schedule)
“It was a left uppercut that set up the left hook to the body. Begic couldn’t make the count, and Hamzah Sheeraz is a world champion!”
Darshan Desai / Uncrowned (ringside update)
Each citation above provides context: live-play-by-play pushed minute-by-minute updates (Uncrowned), DAZN set the broadcast timetable, and onsite reporters provided round narratives and stoppage descriptions that informed the result summaries.
Unconfirmed
- No verified final result for the Usyk vs. Verhoeven main event is confirmed within the sourced live notes provided here; outcome and official scorecards should be checked with final DAZN/commission reports.
- Pay-per-view buy numbers, gate attendance and exact revenue figures for the event had not been published at the time of these live updates.
- Any post-fight medical assessments or planned rematch negotiations remain unreported in the live coverage and are therefore unconfirmed.
Bottom Line
The Usyk–Verhoeven card at the Pyramids of Giza was structured to do more than produce a single result: it aimed to fuse global spectacle, cross-discipline curiosity and meaningful title stakes on the same night. Undercard title changes — notably Hamzah Sheeraz capturing the WBO super middleweight title and decisive wins across multiple weights — showed the card delivered substantive competitive moments independent of the crossover main event.
In sporting terms, the matchup tested how modern boxing balances championship legitimacy with commercial spectacle. The immediate next steps are administrative and promotional: confirmation of official results and scorecards for the main event (if not yet posted), sanctioning-body statements on belt status, and promoter plans for follow-up matchups or rematches. For fans and industry watchers, the primary watchpoints are the long-term effect on heavyweight matchmaking and whether crossover shows of this scale become a recurring model.